Protoplanetary disks as a research area encompass the observational, theoretical, and computational study of gas- and dust-rich disks surrounding young stellar objects, which serve as the birthplaces of planets. This field investigates disk structure, composition, thermochemistry, angular momentum transport, and disk evolution through processes such as accretion, turbulence, magnetohydrodynamic effects, dust growth, and planet–disk interactions. Research integrates multiwavelength observations (e.g., ALMA, infrared spectroscopy) with radiative transfer, hydrodynamical, and chemical modeling to constrain disk lifetimes, mass budgets, and conditions for planet formation, as well as to link disk properties to emerging planetary system architectures and demographics.
Astronomers using W. M. Keck Observatory on Maunakea, Hawaiʻi Island have taken the closest-ever look at the dusty regions where planets form, offering new insight into the earliest stages of planetary birth.
Planetary Sciences
Nov 5, 2025
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When it comes to finding baby, still-forming planets around young stars, the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) observatory is astronomers' most adept tool. ALMA has delivered many images of the protoplanetary ...
Astronomy
Nov 4, 2025
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28
New research from Rice University suggests that the giant planet Jupiter reshaped the early solar system in dramatic ways, carving out rings and gaps that ultimately explain one of the longest-standing puzzles in planetary ...
Planetary Sciences
Oct 22, 2025
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141
In approximately 5 billion years, the sun will deplete its hydrogen fuel and collapse under its own gravity, becoming a white dwarf. Though Earth-sized, this dense remnant will retain much of the sun's gravitational influence.
Astronomy
Oct 22, 2025
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164
A new study led by UNLV scientists sheds light on how planets, including Earth, formed in our galaxy—and why the life and death of nearby stars are an important piece of the puzzle.
Astronomy
Oct 17, 2025
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117
The discovery of ancient water in a planet-forming disk reveals that some of the water found in comets—and maybe even Earth—is older than the disk's star itself, offering breakthrough insights into the history of water in ...
Astrobiology
Oct 15, 2025
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100
The Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) has captured the motion of spirals of dust around a young star and shown that the winding motion of the spiral pattern is conducive to planet formation. This provides ...
Astronomy
Sep 25, 2025
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46
Interstellar objects like 3I/ATLAS that have been captured in planet-forming disks around young stars could become the seeds of giant planets, bypassing a hurdle that theoretical models have previously been unable to explain.
Astronomy
Sep 11, 2025
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189
Large exoplanets are more easily detected than small ones. It's axiomatic. While large planets block out more starlight during transits, small planets block out much less, letting them hide in the overpowering glare from ...
Planetary Sciences
Sep 5, 2025
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35
For this new Picture of the Month feature, the NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope has provided a fantastic new view of IRAS 04302+2247, a planet-forming disk located about 525 light-years away in a dark cloud within ...
Astronomy
Aug 29, 2025
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